.....The Arrival & Departure of the Native.....

....Neil & Wendy Left today for their return journey back  Home in Central PA USA, with fond memories of their stay with us @Maldives Isles...the Weather  was kind & was a couple of degrees  lower thn wht  had  been  prior  to  their arrival...our trips to Hulhumale', ViliMale' & Paradise Island  resort; as we packed in as many six fruitful days...children were more thn happy seeing their uncle & aunt as there  were toys & gifts, in addition  to round the clock jaunts & Island hopping....Archana & Wendy had a gr8 time together catching  up....& Neil & myself had  quality chatting  time  together...he setting in right earnest the brand new IPad Air which he gifted me & the strong pair  of  binocs & we  could watch the distant Island frm  the coffee  balcony....the Deep Blu  & the  mesmerising  white  sands , I am glad did not  let  thm  down, as they  parted with fond  memories....!!!!    

.....its hot in Paradise ....

.....for  the  first  time  in  our decade  long Maldivian Odyssey, the heat is flexing its  muscle....or  else  this  time  of  the  yr  its  always  pleasant.....not  tht  it  is  wholly  unpleasant , but  whn  the Local IRU : Sun strikes Zenith ,its hot in paradise too, witnessed for  the  first  time.....The El Nino effect  is  shaping  up  nd  the  archipelago  is  not  spared this  time......also,the  Mega Projects  in Male' ,  seem  to  hv contributed  to  this too , as our fmly arrives  here  frm USA , now  enroute  ,  the Sunny  side with  all  its blaze  will  welcome  thm  as  they  land  at 1 pm ....little  bit  fine  tuning  of  programmes  need  to  be  done,  to  make  things  as  comfortable  as possible.....thr r a  few  tricks  up  our sleeves  as we  r Islanders ........ ......with  Holi  around  nd  our  own  arriving  shortly , this will  be  spl.......thr  r few  Cafe's whr I wud hang around  brking  frm  my  routine, wearing some  real  tropical  shirt  & hat......frm all four of us Welcome  Home  Neil  &  Wendy ......!!!!!

....Trumpeteer Trump...!!!

....Trumpeteer Trump again Trumped his opponents , this four primaries of  importance, in  the  Nomination  race  for a shot at the White House....stellar performance  must  say, laced  with  vitriolic  diatribe  against  his opponents & establishment...majority of  Republican Americans  do  really   vote  for  him....Americans  are  a  self  made   hardworking  Community &  Conquerer  of  the  Frontier, later  on  Coloniser as the  frontier  shrunk....tht surmises  the  American  Spirit....the  innumerable  conflicts   in  her Growth only  strengthened her dominance as a World  Power  & leader....as Global  situation  with  some  real kamikaze threats  looming large, over the  large  & small  cities....it  is  but  natural  tht thr will  be a resonance of a fightback & paying  it  back....the  thought  is pure but  the  proposed  delivery crude...assuming  the  mantle of World  Leadership, involves , Leading, Global  Citizens,  of  every  hue  &  shade &  Color  & Faith...thr  can't  be  a single  paint  Brush....& a quicksilver remedy.....!!!....expect  more frm  World  leaders  & Gr8 Countries  like  America  which  is  a melting  Pot of all races  ....!!!

....Har Har Mahadev...!!!

......MahaShivratri .......the temples  r agog with unprecedented activity ......Lord  Shiva & Goddess Parvati .......the Govt hospital was 100 mtrs away  frm  Baba Baidyanath whr I first inhaled pristine air & Opened my eyes  cocooned in  my Mother's  Lap.....the infancy  in  the Temple  town & Mahashivratri .......Lord Shiva is Unique  amongst  the God's & Parvati his equally powerful Consort.......the Purans tell  it all.....the towering Himalayas .....Mt Kailash....Man Sarovar.....!!!....thr  is  something  towering  in  Lord  Shiva's presence.....& thr  is  something of  a Calmness in his face.....Lord Shiva & Parvati....I always found in my parents.........

MahaShiv Ratri......!!!!

....The Passage of Time......

...perceptions change with time....concepts on social order too....Law which  is  a mainstay  for  an Orderly  society also need  to  be  revised  as  outdated  versions  do  not  serve  the  Society....its  not  necessary  young  children  will  appreciate  or feel  the past events  which  shaped  our  Society.....with  the  advent  of  gadgets &  Gizmos its one  trend  amongst  the  majority young  to look  forward, backed  up  with  a  mine  of informations....past  is  a  trash  can  nd  need  not  be  Explored.....the  "forward  march  ahead" refrain, satisfies  the  basic instincts, but  how supplant  is  it to  the  Existence  is  Questionable....there  is  intense  pressure  &  Onslaught  to  change  the  Old  Order....its difficult  to  impress  upon  the  youngster , as the interpretation of their  times  is  stark in contrast  to  Ours  ....thr  is  a time  tested  word  though  called  Liberty  , .... in  Hindi  "Azadi"....thr  is  now  a  tug  of  war abt  its  interpretation between  the  youngsters  &  the  Old  Guards....to  Change  & Evolve  is  human....hence  the  Conflict....Controversies  apart ....thr  is a need  for  Restraint  &  Accomodation  of  the  Opp  views....in  consonance  with  Changing  Times.....the Rooted Indian can  never  be dislodged....Ideologies  come  nd  go...diametrically opposite  nd  obnoxious  views r  in  a  state  of  ever changing  flux.... Bharath &  its  Akhandata(unity)is the Umbrella underneath we Express , Claim  nd Ridicule....just  because  few  people  raised  anti national slogans, doesn't mean the Gr8  Epics  r  overturned.....The  Spirit  Of  India is Universal.....!!!! 

.....The Bridge on the River Kwai.....

.....The Bridge epitomises the undaunted Human Spirit of conquering the Earth.....the  huge toil  & its  toll....its fruition.... &  its sense of Unity between the Separated....slowly & steadily Nature  will  be  harnessed  & bridled.....a path  made.....a huge lift  for the populace, conquering  every  Obstacle.....the Human  Spirit  is  Indomitable, Nature & Topography will  hv  to take  a bow....as I Reflect, Science College  Patna : early 80's, Mahendhru Ghat (Jetty over  the Ganges)Patna ,  was one hub  of  activity.....sailing  over  the  Ganga &  reaching Pahleja ghat of North Bihar , as the Intermediate Class of Science  drew  to  a  close  the Great Mahatma Gandhi  Setu was inaugurated  linking  the  two  Bihars  of  North  &  South......thn  came  the  whirlwind ....of  Changes in Transportation  as the  the hitherto  bustling Ghats  , disappearing  into  History, tru  to  the  Human  Nature  of  Discarding  the  old  &  embracing  the  New..... thn  followed the Vikramshila  Setu at Bhagalpur....I was  a witness to   wht  Bridges  can  do  to  uplift the spirit  of  a  teeming  populace.....& India blessed  with  so  many  Rivers  rising  upto  the  Occasion  of  Connecting  its  people across.....so  as we wud listen  to  the  loud  sounds  of  Rolling  stock  over  Rajendra  bridge  near Mokama in Bihar at  the  dead  of  the  night  over  the  Ganges, as the  train  wud  climb  up  negotiating  a  curve....thereafter  moving  down  South  on  Holidays  by  Train ....the  Howrah  Bridge over  the  Hoogly  wud set  a  trail ablaze ,  further  in  the  late  evening, the  rendezvous  with  The  Bridge  over  the Mahanadi  near  Cuttack  , the robust  sound  of  the rolling  stock  the  reflected  city  of  Cuttack  over  its  waters....thn  again  as  day  time  "RajahMundry"  approached  the  Menacing  bridge  over  the  Godavari  with  its  deadly  current  underneath  , connecting  yet  again  two  Separated  pieces  of  land.....late  evening the  scene  ending  with  Sparkling  Bridge  over  the  Krishna at  Vijaywada , before proceeding  to  Madras  as it  was called  those  days....to witness finally another  wonder of  taming  the  Nature :   the  Pamban  Bridge  over  the  Sea  to  Rameshwaram.......each  representing   a  Human  Spirit  which Conquered  the  World....!!!!....as I gaze   at the Indian Ocean , strolling  back  home  after wrk,  the  International  Airport: a yonder  Island separated  frm  the  main....a  decade  passes  by  as a fantasy for  communicability by  Rd over  an ambitious   Sea  Bridge  frm  the  main  Island  now  Unfolds.....how  time  flys  by &  how  Humans  Keep  trying &  Race  along  

catering  to  the  indomitable  Spirit......!!!!!

......Humanely We Proceed....!!!!

.....tht  Trudeau is  a potential  Peace  Prize  material &  ..........Trump a loose cannon ,popular in  Rhetoric  &  theatrics  &  equally  despised,  yet  inching  towards  a  possible  Nomination for  The  party  of  Abraham  Lincoln & Roosevelt.....Trudeau  the  Canadian  PM has  welcomed  the  Refugees &  preached  kindness....as did  Angela  Merkel of  Germany.....ticklish  issues  dealt  with  vision  &  Kindness.....for  we  r  dealing  with  Humanity....r the  Gr8 Citizenry of  USA looking  towards  Canada, is a controversial  question,  for  Trudeau inspires many  of  thm....inclusiveness will  always  win  as its  the norm &  Inclusiveness  has  some  amt  of  difficulties  too....The hospital  Environs  to  which  I am daily  subjected  to  has a one  Mantra  of  Inclusiveness...all  needy  r  welcome......hence I feel  Happy for  the little service which I render & feel connected to  the  Globe......the difft  Languages  r  a  bar  but  on  the  question  of  necessity  it  is  pushed  aside  nd  trashed  ....a  wrking  service  rendered to  the  best  of ability.....Is  it  necessary  thr  fore to  be  fearsome  abt  our  entity or  Environment  which  might  change....We must  be  amenable  to  changes.....in  tht  we  will sharpen  our  skills for  a  truly  fulfilling  existence......

...Finally The rural hinterland.....!!!

.....The Train Chugs  in  Laboriously frm  Pune , reaching a  primitive  Wathar  RS  a  sleepy  Rly  Stn  before  Satara  Jn in Maharashtra.....detraining  point  for  Mahabaleshwar .....barren  rural  landscape nd  tiny  villages  greet  us ,amidst, an  arduous  terrain  habitated  by  rural  folks.....as ajith drove  us  frm  Wathar to  Mahabaleshwar , seldom had  I  experienced a Rd : a Collonade of  Fig  trees  kilometres stretching upto  the  Sahyadris....a remote  stretch  of  Rural  Maharashtra....the lonely cattle  herder with his goats scrape us  by  as we replace  the  Flat  tyre.......India  is  largely  a land  of  Villages......the sooner  we appreciate  this  the  better......India's progress  lies  in  its  villages.....the  sooner  we  recognize  this  the  better.....how partisan  we  r in  India's  story  of  Development.....till  date Villages  stand  exposed  &  vulnerable  in  the  absence  of development.....the  Wathar detraining a small  sleepy  primitive  Rly Stn &  subsequent Journey  brk at  a remote  place , made  me feel the depth  of  the  hinterland of  larger towns  , Cities.....We  hv  failed  in  keeping  our  Villages &  Rural India as  a priority....Colonial  past  nd  now  self  Rule  hardly  make  any  change....hence, felt  Good to  see  the  thrust  in  Today's  Union  Budget towards Rural India....its  here lies  the seeds of greatness  for  a Great  Nation.....criticised  as Wishful  &  Grandiose the Budget  to  me  at least  tries  to  prioritise  India's  Long  Lost  Priority.....!!!!